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Some Mississippi traditions are built on competition. Others are built on community. And then there are the special ones—like Biloxi’s annual Arbor Day Run—that manage to do both while making room for everyone along the way.

MOSS POINT—The All-American Soap Box Derby youth gravity racing program has been operating since 1934, and the only way residents of Mississippi can get to the current International Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio, is through Moss Point.

Tucked into the heart of Summit, Buzy Beez Bookstore is one of those places that quietly reminds you why independent bookstores matter so much.

Evan Phelps of Gautier recently participated in and earned three gold medals in the World Martial Arts Games Committee in Oslo, Norway. That in itself is impressive. What makes it even more impressive is that months earlier he had been seriously injured in a car accident and his participation in the Games seemed uncertain.

There’s something charming about the way Mississippi rings in the new year. Sure, other places watch a polished crystal ball fall in Times Square, but we prefer seafood, anchors, glowing signs, and celebrations that feel like home. In Mississippi, we drop what we love — and sometimes we keep it classic too.

Clinton, Mississippi native, Jacob Dillard debuted at the Grand Ole Opry in November 2025 as the pedal steel guitarist with Walker Montgomery’s band. While performing during the Opry’s 100th anniversary fulfilled a lifelong dream, it provided a time to reflect on the years of hard work in Mississippi and Nashville that paved the way. Landing the opportunity to play with Walker Montgomery, who is the son of country music star John Michael Montgomery, seems serendipitous.

WIGGINS — What began as a woodturning studio has grown into a coffee shop and gift store that is helping revitalize downtown Wiggins. Southern Turnings, founded by Scott and Jane Ann Maddox, has become a staple for residents and a tourist destination for visitors. 

Oxford was already buzzing last Saturday, but tucked between the Grove and the Ole Miss Student Union stood a quieter symbol of the moment—one that felt just as meaningful as kickoff.

For Kayla Walker, Lambing Day began not as a book idea, but as a quiet moment of discovery. During Christmas break in 2023, she finally sat down to read The Tower of the Flock: The Christmas Story by Dr. Christine Van Horn—a book that would shift how she understood the nativity story she had known her entire life. What she found were biblical connections and historical details that challenged long-held assumptions and invited deeper reflection.

If you’ve ever been inside the Bolivar County Courthouse in Rosedale, you may have noticed the old bell — quiet now, but heavy with history. It doesn’t just belong to the building it’s housed in today. That bell once rang out over a town that no longer exists, a Mississippi place that was swallowed whole by the river.

For more than six decades, Chevron Pascagoula Refinery has invested in South Mississippi communities, helping drive economic growth and opportunity across the Gulf Coast. That commitment continues for the fourth  year in 2025 through the Chamber Chevron Community Creative Collaboration, better known as the 5C program.

Queen of Memphis, a family saga novel by Pascagoula writer Martin Hegwood, is on the short list of finalists for Southern Literary Review’s 2025 Book of the Year Award.  The story takes place in Memphis, the north Delta, and Jackson. The editors of Southern Literary Review extend this special recognition each year to a select group of books written by Southern authors and deemed to have lasting value in the Southern literary canon.

When I first moved to McComb, I started noticing Scott Photography appearing all over my Facebook feed. I was immediately drawn to the images and the way they captured the heart of this corner of Mississippi. What stood out most was that everything Manuel Scott photographs is centered around McComb and Summit. It’s clear that he isn’t just documenting events; he’s documenting the life and spirit of this community.

There’s something special about a win that feels both well-earned and long overdue. That’s exactly the energy surrounding Jackson’s newest honor: being named the South’s Top Culinary Town for 2025 by The Local Palate. After two rounds of public voting this summer, Jackson didn’t just hold its own — it rose to the very top, beating out cities across the region with a confidence only Mississippi’s capital can carry.

The 5th Squad began in 2016, founded by four veterans from Mississippi’s 184th Sustainment Command to build a strong brotherhood and address combat isolation in military life. After becoming an official nonprofit, 5th Squad provides immediate, impactful support for fellow veterans in crisis, filling gaps in traditional aid with quick financial help daily living, and rallies veterans together to foster a unique, service-oriented community.

MOSS POINT—Nothing says Christmas more than the joy in the eyes of a child upon receiving a gift, and the Junior Auxiliary of Pascagoula-Moss Point is working to make sure children in foster care have that same look of joy.